Liquid oxygen is a liquid form of oxygen gas, which is blue in indigo color and has various medical, industrial and laboratory uses. It is used in the aerospace industry as an oxidizing agent for spacecraft propulsion engines. The oxygen condensate temperature is about -182 ° C.
Liquid oxygen and steel industry
Another application of liquid oxygen is in the steel industry. One of the most widely used liquid oxygen industries is the military industry. It is another place of oxygen consumption in welding, cutting and laser industries. Due to the high consumption of this gas, these industries buy oxygen in liquid form, store it in cryogenic tanks, turn it into gas, and finally use oxygen in the gas phase.
Oxygen at standard temperature and pressure is a gas that contains two oxygen atoms with the chemical formula O2. Oxygen is an important element of air and is produced through the photosynthesis of plants and is necessary for animals to breathe. The word oxygen is made up of the two Greek words Oxus (sour) and Gennan (fertility), which means something from which pickle is made.
Liquid and solid oxygen are pale blue and both are highly paramagnetic. Liquid oxygen is usually obtained by the partial distillation of liquid air. The volume percentage of oxygen is 20%.
The density of liquid oxygen is equal to 1141 kg per cubic meter, so one liter (one thousandth of a cubic meter) of liquid oxygen will be equal to 1.141 kg.
Kian Group International Company is the largest supplier and exporter of petroleum products in Turkey, which with the cooperation of its representative in Iran, Kian Petroleum Company, is able to supply various oil, mineral and steel products directly from the doors of Iranian factories.
Physical information of liquid oxygen
- Molar mass : 32 g mol − 1
- Appearance : Pale blue liquid
- Density : 1 ٫ 141 g · cm − 3
- Melting point : 50 ٫ 5 K (−368 ٫ 77 ° F; −222 ٫ 65 ° C)
- Welding temperature : 90 ٫ 19 K (−297 ٫ 33 ° F −182 ٫ 96 ° C)
How to produce liquid oxygen?
It is usually done from the surrounding air by devices that suck the available air and by compressing and lowering the temperature to -183 degrees Celsius.
Liquid oxygen storage
A liquid oxygen tank or flask is used to store this cold liquid.
They are tightly insulated so that the oxygen tank does not have any heat exchange with the outside.
Oxygen tank is available in 2.5 liter to 800 liter sizes.
All tanks have the standard accepted by the Iranian standard and are tested and approved by inspection companies.
Liquid oxygen tank (oxygen tank) has European TUV standard.
Applications of liquid oxygen
In applications of space shuttles and rockets and space shuttles, rockets, Apollo, spacecraft, etc., this liquid is used as an oxidizing fuel in such a way that it plays a role in combining liquid hydrogen with kerosene. Plays stimulants and elevators.
This liquid is referred to in industry as an industrial gas that has a wide range of applications.
It also covers a wide range in the medical field.
This liquid is widely used in the manufacture of explosives.
Safety Tips When Using Liquid Oxygen
- May cause eye and skin discomfort.
- Contact with this liquid should be avoided, as mentioned above, due to the extreme cold, it causes cold burns.
- To use the oxygen gas cylinder, pressure reduction equipment must be used and after each use, the valve must be closed. Also, after emptying the capsule, the oxygen capsule storage tanks must be in a cool place with proper ventilation and away from any alkaline substances.
- The cylinders must have a cap and be fixed in place.
- The maximum ambient temperature for holding an oxygen cylinder under pressure is 52 ° C.
- The charge of oxygen gas produced in Iran is up to 99.9 and for liquid oxygen up to 99.99.
- For laboratory and specialized purposes, it is better to use imported oxygen with a purity of 99.999.
- The charge pressure of a 40 liter oxygen cylinder is 150 times equal to 2250 PSI and in 50 liter cylinders the charge pressure is 200 times equal to 3000 PSI. Every 5 years, a hydrostatic test must be performed on each cylinder.
- The reason for storing liquid oxygen instead of gaseous form is that it takes up less space and costs less.
- A typical liquid oxygen storage system includes a high-pressure cryogenic storage tank (cryogenic tank).
Here are some basic things to know about liquid oxygen:
- Oxygen gas is not flammable but accelerates the combustion and combustion of materials.
- Tanks under liquid oxygen pressure should not be punctured or damaged in any way.
- Liquid oxygen can cause serious eye and skin damage.
- The release and discharge of liquid oxygen by pressure causes freezing.
- The ambient temperature for liquid oxygen under pressure is at least 52 degrees.
- Liquid oxygen tank due to high insulation prevents penetration and heat transfer into the tank
- Liquid oxygen is the oxygen gas that is liquefied at -196 degrees by fractional distillation.
- Oxygen tanks are available in 2.5 liter to 800 liter sizes.